Eastside Story
by Peppermint Smile
Summary: East High has a summer musical every year, but this summer every Wildcat is in for some surprises. Everyone finds out a lot more about each other than they thought they ever would. Ryella. Copyright 2007 Peppermint Smile
1. Chapter 1: Screaming on the Inside

_So yes, I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the play "Westside Story", and I've been watching/listening to it so much lately I decided to write an East High version of it. And it's summer, so I'm in a camp mood. Summer Musicals really __are__ the most fun; you learn a lot about people and everyone gets really close ____ It's pretty intense, but extremely fun. I've been having fun writing new fanfics incorporating other movies lately…Anyways, enjoy. __**Remember to R&R!!!!!  
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**Chapter One****: Screaming on the Inside**

It was the first time I had heard Ryan Evans scream. I'd heard him whisper, talk, sing, and on a rare occasion yell, but never scream. Tears streamed down his face as he screamed at the top of his lung capability, sobbing in between blood-chilling shrieks, curled up in a miserable ball on the gym floor. None of us knew what had happened. A bunch of the guys had been playing a friendly game of basketball, and Chad had become over-enthusiastic. While playing on the defensive, he collided with Ryan and come crashing down onto of him.

Chad had popped right up and offered a hand to Ryan, but was shocked to find him still lying flat on his back, screaming. At first we all thought Ryan was just being himself and over-dramatizing everything, but even the best actor in the world would not be able to produce such life-like sobbing.

"Ryan?" Chad asked timidly. Ryan kept right on screaming, his eyes clamped tight shut. Jason panicked and ran back into the locker rooms.

"COACH BOLTON!" There was really no need to do so; my dad had already started running inside when he heard screams coming from the gym. He knelt down next to Ryan, and tried to get him to calm down. I heard people running out of their classrooms and towards the gym. Quite a crowd was collecting in the doorway of the gym.

"Zeke, call 911," my dad said with a very pale face. "Chad." He popped to attention. "Tell me what happened"

"We were just playing friendly basketball, sir, and I accidentally landed on Ryan"

"Sending all 155 pounds directly onto his chest, I bet," my dad grumbled, sighing. "Ryan, where does it hurt?" Ryan had stopped screaming by now, and was biting his lip, obviously in excruciating pain. I saw blood seeping from his white lip. My stomach turned over; I hated seeing other people's blood. My dad slowly prodded Ryan's chest until he brushed against a lower rib and Ryan yelped loudly, tears springing to his eyes again. "Okay, I guess we found the problem area"

It was a very silent school that watched Ryan get gently lifted onto a stretcher and transported off to the ambulance, my dad going along with him for the ride.

"Where's Sharpay?" Zeke made almost everyone jump.

Where _was_ Sharpay? I combed through the crowd with my eyes and did not find the Ice Queen anywhere. Had she not heard the agonizing screams? Did she not care that her twin had just broken a rib?

I, of course, was elected to go find her and break the news. I found her striking our last play with fellow drama geeks in the auditorium, ordering about terrified freshman while Darbus oversaw the clean up.

"Sharpay!" I bellowed. She, not surprisingly, completely ignored me.

"IF YOU DROP THOSE COSTUMES I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE!" she hollered at a retreating form, and then turned a glittering smile to me. "How may I help you, Troy?"

"Well, I just thought you should know what happened to Ryan." She wasn't listening. Unconsciously pruning herself, she fixed her crooked shirt and yelled another command at lower classmen.

"Sorry; what about who?"

"**Ryan, your twin**. He had an accident." That caught her attention.

"AN ACCIDENT?" The entire auditorium was brought to a standstill. "WHAT KIND OF ACCIDENT? WILL HE BE ABLE TO DANCE FOR TRYOUTS???"

"Considering he broke a rib or two, I kind of doubt it," I stated blatantly. She stared.

"**He broke a rib?????**" I winced. She didn't have to shout to make you feel terrified. "**How did this happen??**"

"He was playing basketball with some of us guys-"

"Excuse me?"

"I said, he was playing basketball with some of us guys-"

"Excuse me?"

"What do you mean, 'excuse me'?" I snapped, annoyed with her rude interruption.

"My brother does NOT play basketball. Try restating that sentence in a sensible way." How stuck up could a girl get?

"Umm, he actually _was_ playing basketball with us, for fun, and wasn't half-bad. The point is that Chad accidentally landed on him and broke his rib." I spit all this out before she could interrupt me again.

"Mr. Evans has broken a rib?" Way to be late on the draw, Darbus. "Am I safe to assume that he will not be dancing in the tryouts?"

"He won't be able to do very much dancing for several weeks," I pointed out, remembering when my older brother had broken his own a number of years before.

"Then it's safe to say my brother will **not** be auditioning at all"

Both Darbus and I gawked at her. "You're not going to try out with Ryan at all?" I said, amazed. "But he will still be able to sing, and y'all have been performing together since-"

"I don't care!! I will not have my brother ruining my chances of become the lead! All he's good for is dancing, and since he can not dance, I don't need him." **Ouch**. Glad Ryan wasn't around to hear that. "Just leave my name on the list and erase Ryan's…I've always wanted to go solo anyways." And with that, Sharpay stormed off, leaving a thunderstruck drama teacher and jock in her wake.

How would Ryan take the news that he was no longer needed for tryouts? It made my brain hurt even considering Ryan up on stage all by himself…and not dancing. It also hurt thinking of Sharpay all by herself. It seemed so impossible. Ryan was the jazz, Sharpay was the crowd-pleaser. Ryan was all talent, Sharpay was all show.

But then, why was I complaining? With the duo split up, Gabriella and I would be guaranteed a definite spot in the summer musical coming up. School would be over in one week, but pretty much all of the drama students would be coming back to summer camp.

As far back as I could remember East High had had summer musicals. For $200, you could go to a sleep-away camp at a college campus and spend seven weeks of your summer working on a musical. This would be the first year for me to go, but then I had only last year become interested in musical theatre. It was the summer before my senior year; I had tried out for the musical with Gabriella when we were sophomores, and we had starred in every musical since. Last summer we worked at the Country Club, but now we were going to try something new; the summer musical.

This year was Westside Story. Much as I would hate to admit it to anyone, I was not at all worried about getting the starring role. I had gotten the parts I wanted in the spring musical, fall musical, winter musical, and the next spring musical. You might say my confidence was fairly boosted.

So I was pretty pumped that Saturday morning, waiting for the buses; 6 o'clock though it was. School was out, and I had an insane, long, fun musical to look forward to. Kelsi had told me earlier in the year that the summer musicals were always the most fun. Gabriella was unbelievably awake and peppy for the early hour, just like me—but the rest of the drama students were still asleep.

I could see the twins approaching, Ryan tugging four rolling suitcases behind him, and what looked like a well-used dance bag slung over one shoulder.

"Pack much, dude?" I laughed, shaking my head at all the luggage.

"No," he gasped for breath. "Three of them are Sharpay's. I brought one and the bag." Big surprise there.

"Need some help there?" I asked, seeing him clutch his chest and set them down for a minute. It was bandaged and wrapped, but still gave him a lot of trouble.

"Oh no, it's fine; I got it." Wincing, he grabbed the suitcases again and deposited them by the large charter bus. Sharpay was already inside sitting with some friends, not bothering to trouble herself with pulling her own junk. I helped shove my own suitcase underneath the bus and climbed on. I saw Ryan sit by some fellow blonde dancer buddy—Wes, I think his name was, and he looked almost like a "Ryan-wanna-be", nice shirts, hats and everything—and I sat down next to Gabriella.

"Excited?"

"Very," she beamed, looking prettier than ever in a white tank top and a skirt made out of ties. "This is going to be so much fun!" I nodded, grinning at her.

"Do you have any idea what song we should try out with?"

"Maybe something from the play this time …like 'Tonight'"

"Umm, the auditions are tomorrow…."

"Have you never seen 'Westside Story'??" I shook my head, feeling very stupid. "A song in that play sung by the two main characters is 'Tonight'. I was saying we should sing that song"

"…Right"

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Troy, sometimes I worry about you"

"Oh thanks." I stuck my tongue out at her. She stuck hers back. Good thing our relationship was so grown up.

We arrived at Fine Arts University of Roswell at about four in the afternoon _**A/E:**__ I completely made up this college campus, so the few colleges I've had camps at I don't remember/know the campuses well enough to give accurate details. So I decided to completely make one up____ I also wanted a long bus ride, since that's what I always have to put up with, but I have no idea how long it takes to get from Albuquerque to place, so if y'all find a city the accurate distance away, please tell me, haha)_. By then we had gone through three Pringles cans, five cans of soda, and eight rolls of Mentos, and the entire bus was ready to stretch their legs. Darbus called roll and led us over to the orientation, saying we could get our luggage later. We had to endure a forty minute lecture by the head of the camp and our drama teacher.

Then we were dismissed to go find our assigned rooms in the dorms. The boys had the Oz Dorm, and the girls Sherwood Forest Dorm (all of them were named after Disney places, for some odd reason). I glanced at the piece of paper we had all been given, and looked up at the top where Darbus had scrawled our room numbers. 512. I paid the Dorm R.A. $15 deposit (if I returned the key safely I would get the money back) and rode the elevator up to the top floor.

The room was already unlocked when I reached it. To my great surprise, I saw Ryan Evans straightening the blue and brown sheets stretched neatly over one of the two mattresses. His unzipped red suitcase and beat-up black dance bag (reading Ryan C. T. Evans in big, bright blue, cursive letters) lay on the ground nearby.

"You're my roommate?" I gaped. He glanced up, shrugged, and finished his nurse's corner (a way you can tuck sheets around the bed that I thought only my mother did).

"I guess so." I had hoped to share a room with someone like Kevin, who played lacrosse, but evidently not. He pulled out his pillow (also blue and brown) and fluffed it slightly. Not knowing what else to do, I also unzipped my duffle and dragged out my huge brown sleeping bag. Feeling incredibly stupid, I spread it across the bed and pulled out my moss green pillow.

I glanced down at his dance bag again. Ryan C. T. Evans. My curiosity got the better of me.

"What does C. T. stand for?"

"Christopher Thomas. I have two middle names." Feeling stupider than ever with his short answers, I went into the bathroom to change into something more comfy. When I came back, Ryan had neatly packed away all of his folded clothing in drawers, arranged his books and notepads on his desk, and hung up some nicer shirts. It was ridiculous how neat he was.

Unable to deal with the silence, I wandered back downstairs to try and find Gabriella. Once I found her, I spilled to her my grievances with my roommate.

"Just because he's neat and you're not doesn't mean you need to throw a hissy-fit," she giggled, strolling with me through the campus; dinner wasn't for a good two hours. "You're going to have to make the best of it"

"He's going to drive me crazy," I moaned, running my hands through my hair. "Who'd you get paired with?"

"Sharpay, so count your blessings; you got the better half." I couldn't help but laugh. She was **very** right about that.

I decided to give Gabriella's suggestion a chance; try to make the best of it. Ryan really wasn't half-bad; actually, he was downright sweet. It shouldn't be too hard getting to know him.

After dinner, everyone retired to the dorm common rooms, and later to their own rooms. Ryan had gone straight to our room, unlike everyone else. I came in to find him sitting cross-legged on his bed in his pajamas, his head bent over something.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" I asked. When he glanced up at me, I blinked in surprise. He was wearing silver-rimmed glasses—and was actually pulling them off very well.

"Just music for the tryouts," he responded, and I was relieved to see him grin. "I have to practice on my own now that Sharpay doesn't want me anymore." I suddenly realized how plastered his grin seemed; like someone had glued it onto his unwilling face.

"What are you doing to sing?"

"That you'll have to wait until tryouts to find out." With that, he tucked away the music in a folder, grabbed a thick book of the side table, and flipped to a page around the middle.

"You…_like _to read?" I felt like a loser asking him so many questions, but I was curious—he always managed to suprise me.

Ryan chuckled. "Yes; don't you?"

"No, I hate reading," I laughed. "Can't stand the stuff. I gotta admit, I didn't picture you much of a reader"

He shrugged. "Sharpay doesn't like reading either, but now that she isn't here, I am free to read all I want." I shook my head.

"Gabriella's the one to talk to about books; way out of my league." He smiled, and returned to his novel. I recalled how ticked off Gabbi would get at me if I talked to her while she was reading a good book; and Ryan seemed pretty absorbed, so I plugged in my headphones and went into the bathroom to change.

I dared one last peek at the spine of the book. War and Peace. Rolling my eyes heavenward, I closed the bathroom door. Those Evans were so odd.

Tuesday afternoon was auditions. Gabriella and I had practiced "Tonight" so many times that when we stepped onto stage there was no doubt in my mind we would land the roles of Tony and Maria. Even though I am normally not prideful, I couldn't stop grinning when we took our final bow, knowing we had done perfectly.

Sharpay made up for the fact she was alone on stage by all of her glam. My eyes watered when the stage lights hit all of her jewelry dead on. I think the entire audience was blinded.

And then it was Ryan. He looked very empty on stage, all by his lonesome self. It occurred to me I had barely ever seen him walk anywhere by himself. Come to think of it, he had never done anything by himself; singing, dancing, walking, whatever. Instead of his usual nice shirts and pressed pants, he wore dark jeans and black jacket _**A/E: **__If any of y'all have seen "Return to Halloweentown", it's the one he wears in the classroom scene when they're writing their papers). _He slowly took the mike off the stand and motioned Grayson, who was controlling the sound booth, to start the music. Ryan sang a song very familiar and rather on the old side; but unlike all of the other people, the audience remained dead quiet during the entire song—just listening.

_I have often dreamed_

_Of a far off place_

_Where a hero's welcome_

_Would be waiting for me_

_Where the crowds will cheer_

_When they see my face_

_And a voice keeps saying_

"_This is where I'm meant to be"_

_I'll be there someday  
I can go the distance  
I will find my way  
If I can be strong  
I know ev'ry mile  
Will be worth my while  
When I go the distance  
I'll be right where I belong_

_Down an unknown road  
To embrace my fate  
Though the road may wander  
It will lead me to you  
And a thousand years  
Would be worth the wait  
It may take a lifetime  
But somehow I'll see it through_

_And I won't look back  
I can go the distance  
And I'll stay on track  
No I won't accept defeat  
It's an uphill slope  
But I won't lose hope  
Till I go the distance  
And my journey is complete_

_But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part  
For a hero's strength is measured by his heart_

_Like a shooting star  
I can go the distance  
I will search the world  
I will face its harms  
I don't care how far  
I can go the distance  
Till I find my hero's welcome  
Waiting in your arms..._

_I will search the world  
I will face its harms  
Till I find my hero's welcome  
Waiting in your arms..._

No one spoke. I don't think anyone even breathed. I had had no idea Ryan Evans could sing like that. His voice was so clear, so perfect…so goddamn beautiful. Why on earth did he settle to sing with his sister? She wasn't even **half **as great a singer as him. I looked back at Sharpay. I saw to some satisfaction that even her eyes were slightly larger than normal; I don't think she knew how good her brother was either.

Ryan just stood there on the stage, breathing deeply and clutching his sore chest; waiting for Darbus's evaluation.

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_The slight joke that I'm sure pretty much all of you got was that Lucas Grabeel actually did a remix (well, he redid it) of the song "Go the Distance. It is already such a pretty song and Lucas did a __fantastic__ job on it. In case you haven't heard it (you poor deprived child), here's the link: _

_haven't really decided exactly where this story is going yet, so I need your help! __**Tips, opinions, advice, w/e, please R&R!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Reading, Roles, and Rain

_-sigh- I'd forgotten how much fun it is to write Ryellas. –sniff sniff- It's been awhile since _

_A New Tune__…anyways, just a heads up, there's really going to be very little Tryan—sorry, I know, but this story is really leading more towards Ryella…and the little Tryan there will be is going to be a "one-way relationship", if you get my drift, muahaha…never mind. Enjoy this chapter!_

**Chapter Two****: Reading, Roles, and the Rain **

_Ryan just stood there on the stage, breathing deeply and clutching his sore chest; waiting for Darbus's evaluation._

"Mr. Evans, have you ever sang a solo before?" Mrs. Darbus asked.

"Erm…well, I have had a few small solos in Sharpay and-"

"I mean **real** solos; with just you up on the stage"

"No," he said in a very small voice, shuffling his feet nervously.

_Nervous? Ryan?_ Since when was Ryan ever nervous? I couldn't help but stare at the drama king. His voice had given me goose bumps—as if he was singing it directly to me. His clear tenor had gone straight to my heart, and my eyelids felt very hot.

"Gabbi, you alright?" I hurriedly wiped my eyes, scolding myself for letting my emotions get the better of me. I smiled at Troy.

"I'm perfectly fine; my eye's just itchy." I don't think he really believed me, but he didn't press the issue.

Was he feeling the same thing I was? The feeling that the song had not just been sung by Ryan, but rather had been sung through him. The feeling it gave me was so…unearthly, it was creepy.

I had a feeling Darbus was sharing my vibe in this area, but she shrugged it off and called on the next soloist. Ryan plopped down shakily into the seat next to me, grinning lopsidedly.

"Well that sucked," he laughed, obviously trying to get rid of post-audition nerves.

"Sucked?" I said, startled to hear my voice cracking. "Ryan, that was amazing! You're really good"

He sent me a very skeptical look, and I knew he didn't believe me. "You don't have to be nice; I'm used to the cold truth"

"I'm serious! You're really good!" I insisted, looking at Troy for support. He hastily nodded, and I could tell that deep down he was truly impressed as well—being a guy, he wouldn't show it.

"Yah; it was pretty cool, man." _Boys._ I swear, sometimes they can be such dorks. I could tell Ryan wasn't convinced of Troy's sincerity. Who could blame him? Ryan flattened his hair and gave us a small smile before turning his attention to the next student auditioning.

Later that day we had dancing lessons; musicals required many, many hours of choreography practice. Right now the boy's were getting lectured—Ryan watched quietly from the sidelines, taking notes. I, moved by loneliness, sat down Indian-style next to him, grinning a greeting. He looked up, slightly surprised, smiled back, and went back to observing the clunking boys.

"How come you're so good I dancing?" Now what had inspired me to say that? The thought had randomly popped into my brain and gone straight out my mouth. _Smooth move, Gabbi._ To my surprise, he didn't seem at all disturbed by my question, and kept his eyes glued on our choreographer.

"I've been dancing since I could walk, and my parents are very passionate about their children excelling in whatever they love to do. I loved dancing, so they really encouraged to become the best dancer I could." He smiled at me, and I felt my knees turn to butter. "I still love dancing, but recently, my interests have turned more towards musical theatre—singing and acting more than dancing. But, my parents are convinced that dancing is my only true passion, so I don't really go out for the big roles. Until this year…" I blinked in surprise.

"You tried out for Tony?"

He nodded, a pink tinge flowing over his pale skin. Wow, this guy looked even cuter blushing. "I figured that as Sharpay doesn't want me, I might as well jump at the chance." Ryan hung his head sheepishly. "Silly as it may seem, I still want main roles of plays really badly"

"Do you want the honest-to-goodness truth?" I asked bluntly. He finally pulled his eyes off of the dancing and looked me straight in the face. God, he _was_ beautiful.

"Sock it to me." Since when did people in our generation say that?

"I think that your talent is overshadowed by Sharpay. Frankly, you are a way better dancer and singer than her—and probably actor. I mean, I wouldn't know, since I've never really seen you perform to your fullest. You should stop taking your sister's advice and just do your own thing-thing, you know what I mean?"

I was afraid I had completely lost him. He just kept on staring at me with those captivating eyes, and after a **very** long, uncomfortable silence, spoke. "I've never heard anyone call me better than Sharpay before…do you really think I am?"

"Yes," I answered confidently and without hesitation; no doubt was left in my mind. "And I hope you-" I was about to say 'I hope you get Tony; you deserve it', but my loyalty to my boyfriend halted my tongue. If I wished Ryan good luck, I would be wishing my boyfriend to lose. Confound it all!

Luckily, Ryan read my eyes easily. "It's alright; you don't have to wish me good luck. It won't do any good, anyways; Troy is better than me in most areas, so he will undoubtedly get the part of Tony, and you the part of Maria. That's the way things are supposed to be." I stared sorrowfully at him; knowing deep inside my heart it to be true, but somehow wishing it wasn't so. Ryan loved the theatre with all his heart…it seemed unfair such passion and talent should be shoved aside. For a split second, I wished him all of the best luck in the world. Despite my protesting mind, I didn't take it back.

At dinner that night, I noticed something odd. Ever since Ryan had broken his rib, Sharpay had utterly neglected him. Bearing his food tray, he made his way towards his twin's table, but the blonde managed to hurriedly fill the open seat with a member of her huge fan club. Heaving a sigh, Ryan scanned the classroom for an empty place. I followed his look, and saw nothing but turned backs and saved seats. He walked patiently over to a small, two-person table in a far corner by a window and sat by himself, dance bag at his feet.

To my astonishment, I saw him pull a thick book out of the bag as well as a pair of _reading glasses_. Curiosity got the best of me, and whispering in Troy's ear that I'd be right back, I wandered over to where he was sitting and sat opposite of him. He glanced up at me in mild surprise, and took off his reading glasses.

"You like reading?" I said bewilderedly, wishing to say something a bit more intelligent. He laughed gently.

"You're surprised?" He chuckled again. "Troy thought it very weird too, but said that you really like reading"

"I'm a **complete** bookworm," I confessed, giggling. "What are you are you reading?"

He held up the spine for me the read. War and Peace.

"I love that book!" I cried out without thinking. His smile increased.

"You've read it?"

"A million times," I gushed. "My favorite part is when-"

"Don't tell me," he interrupted, "if it happens late in the book. I haven't finished it yet." I grinned, and nodded.

"I absolutely hate it when people give away endings for me, so I won't breathe a word." Ryan laughed slightly, and put his bookmark back in the book.

"So what's your **favorite **book?"

I thought about it long and hard. "That's a really hard question; I have so many favorites!"

"Surely you have an absolute favorite, though?" he questioned, surprised at my trouble. I thought harder.

"Probably Watership Down, by Richard Adams.,"I concluded. "It's so much fun hearing about the rabbit's world!"

He laughed again. I could get addicted to that laugh. "Can't say I've read that one. I'll have to check it out"

"You'd better," I said in a mock-angry voice. "So, if you are so convinced that everyone has an 'absolute favorite book', what's yours?"

Ryan grinned cockily and tipped his chair back some. Wait, Ryan could be cocky? "Easy; The Lord of the Rings trilogy, hands down. Tolkein's amazing"

"Don't you get bogged down in all of the description?" I questioned. "I got bored with it about one half into the second half of Two Towers"

"That's what makes it all so interesting," he insisted. "Tolkein creates an entire world in his writing—languages and everything. It all seems so real"

"What did you think of the movies?"

"Peter Jackson did the books justice, but the books are still **way** better"

"Yah, that's the way it usually is with books made into movies"

"What's your favorite movie?" he asked, switching topics slightly.

"I don't think I'll tell you," I giggled, wrinkling my nose at him. He laughed.

"And why not?"

"'Cause you'll laugh"

"Will not"

"Will too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"I won't laugh!" he argued with such intensity that he fell over backwards in his chair, which he had tipped on its back legs. I collapsed into a helpless fit of giggles, attracting stares from surrounding tables. I couldn't help it; his obvious sincerity was so endearing and hilarious at the same time.

Wincing slightly, he climbed back in his chair, acting like nothing had happened. "Now seriously, tell me!"

"Are you alright?" I asked, realizing his chest was probably still tender.

"**I'm fine**. Tell me!" He was not to be put off.

"'Moulin Rouge'."

Ryan stared at me with a blank expression. "What's so embarrassing about that? That's on my top ten movies"

"You've seen it?" I gasped. "But it's a total chic flick!"

"Obviously you don't live with Sharpay," he laughed. "Every now and again, when she's forcing me to go see movies with her, a good one pops up, such as 'Moulin Rouge'"

"If that's not your top movie, then what is?"

"Must I have a top favorite of everything?" he teased. I stuck my tongue out at him. He stuck his out back. I giggled. I had had no idea Ryan Evans could be so much fun.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. A wise old geezer once told me '_Everyone must have an absolute favorite_'," I giggled, making my voice go very low.

"Sounds like a very smart, intelligent person," Ryan said with a straight face. "Alright then…my favorite movie would probably be 'Jurassic Park'"

I was not prepared for that answer. "**What**?"

"Why, you don't like that movie?"

"It's not I don't like it, but I was picturing you a much more musical-loving person!"

"I do love musicals, but I also love horror movies"

I automatically shivered. "I detest horror movies"

"You're crazy"

"_You're _the one who's crazy"

"That's true." I giggled. "What say we just agree that we both are crazy and move along with the conversation?"

"Sounds good to me"

"Any suggestions to a new topic?"

"None"

"Well, look around; maybe something will _inspire_ you"

I looked around as ordered, and my gaze fell upon his dinner tray. "All you have is a salad and water?" Ryan blushed self-consciously.

"I'm watching my weight"

"Let me guess; Sharpay put you up to it?"

"She started it, but I kept on the diet anyways—I want to stay in shape." I shook my head incredulously. Ryan was probably the skinniest guy in East High next to Victor Salamier, who was skinnier than a string bean and extremely creepy. Victor's weight was just unhealthy; all that Ryan had left was just dancer muscle.

I noticed that the snack bar had opened. "Hey, wanna go get an ice cream Sunday with me?" I asked as I stood up. He shook his head.

"No thanks; I'm not into sweets." I stared at him for what felt like the millionth time that evening.

"_Not into sweets_? How do you live??" He chuckled again.

"Quite nicely, and you?" I just rolled my eyes and continued on my way, his laughter following me. Such a nice, velvety laughter; it gave me tingles.

"Hey Gabs, what's takin' you so long to come back to the table?" I jumped in recognition of the voice. I now realized that I had spent pretty much the entire dinner sitting with Ryan. I couldn't blame sweet Troy for noticing—but I wondered if he might have gotten jealous of Ryan Evans.

"Are you _jealous_, Troy Bolton?"

"Jealous? Of** what?**"

"You mean of whom—and Ryan"

"Me? Jealous of _Ryan_? Get real"

"_Troy's jealous of Ryan, Troy's jealous of Ryan…_"I teased in a sing-song manner. "_Troy's jeeeaaaalooousss_"

Troy grabbed me around the waist and picked me up. I giggled madly and tried to squirm away, but he held on tight. Eventually, he let go and we both collapsed to the ground, breathing hard in between bursts of laughter.

Trying to regain my composure, my gaze settled on the table I had just left. Ryan was watching the goings-on with a strange look in his eyes…almost like watching us almost **hurt** him somehow. He replaced his reading glasses and once again opened his novel. Troy, still cracking up, looked at me with surprise.

"How can you stop laughing so fast? _Turn that frown upside down_!" I rewarded his goofiness with a small smile, and got to my feet. I didn't really feel like laughing now.

I heard a load groan from the doorway. When I turned, I saw Sharpay and her entourage about to leave the room.

"It's pouring outside!" Alicia, one of the girls, whined. "My hair's going to be _ruined_"

Inwardly, I also groaned. I really detested rain of any sort—it just made everything so depressing and got you wet and cold and miserable. Troy also groaned, and then handed me my ice cream Sunday with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and maraschino cherries. I dove into the dessert with relish, and let Troy guide me back to his table.

Twenty minutes later, when both discussions and ice creams were finished, the crew dispersed out into the soaked, muddy campus. Holding my hands over my head, I began darting towards the girls' dorm.

"Here." Ryan appeared out of nowhere and offered me an open umbrella. "I don't need it"

I gladly accepted the umbrella, but stayed behind for a minute. "Why; do you have an extra or something?"

"No; I just love the rain"

I gawked at him. "How can you love the rain? It's makes everything so…so…wet"

He smiled at me, rivers of rainwater cascading down his tangled golden hair and past his baby blue, crystal eyes. Those eyes…so gentle, happy, innocent, knowing, experienced, optimistic, I could go on for hours. "Staying dry isn't everything, you know. Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice, take a risk, and throw away the umbrella to get what you want"

"But what do you want?" He gazed directly into my eyes now, and I could feel a blush creeping over my cheeks.

"I just want to be happy without any of the lame side-affects that forced happiness provides." He smiled. Holy mother and child, his smile was drop-dead gorgeous. "The simple pleasures, you know?"

"I know…" At least, I thought I did. Ryan smiled at me again and walked cheerfully off, in the direction of Dedric's Cliff. A moment of hesitation, and then I followed him.

"Why are you coming over here?" He looked back at me, not seeming at all surprised that I had followed.

"It's peaceful over here…and the rain isn't stopped by any trees"

Dedric's Cliff is a very, very steep, rocky hill that has an eighteen foot drop-off (not exactly a cliff, but that was what it was called, at any rate). No student is allowed within ten feet of the edge for safety reasons. Ryan lay down exactly at the ten-foot mark, and fixed his eyes on the blue-gray sky above.

"Care to join me?" After much inward debating, I closed the umbrella and sat down next to him, clutching my knees to my chest. "Just close your eyes and let the rain pour down your face…" he murmured, his eyes half-closed. I did as told, as was surprised to feel how relaxing it was. In the back of my mind, I knew my clothes were soaked through and it would take hours to straighten my hair, but somehow, I didn't care. All I could think about was the drops of rain hitting my face and the soothing sound of sheets of water pouring down from the sky. I sighed contentedly.

"Told you it was worth the risk." I opened my eyes and peeked down at Ryan. He winked at me, and closed his eyes again; a satisfied smile perched on his lips. I chuckled, and let my eyes rest on the peaceful, stormy skies above. Never again would I complain on a rainy day.

I was blessed with the good fortune to have many rainy days ahead of me to look forward too. With an occasional sunny break in between, the sky constantly poured down buckets and buckets of rain—putting me in a fairly good mood. There is nothing more pleasant that waking up to the sound of rain pattering against the roof, and a gray sky peeping through the blinds. It provided excellent conditions to curl up with a book and read.

Too bad that there was so little free time! Every day we learned new dance steps and new songs. It was grueling work, but terrifically fun. During regular rehearsals, since parts were not chosen yet, Darbus pick out a few select people to play roles and read out of the script. The entire group was kept amused by the text in the script, and we all we sentenced to speak in a New York accent whenever we entered the Neverland Auditorium (I swear, whoever came up with this college loved Disney).

Finally, that Sunday afternoon, the big meeting came. The meeting where we would find out what we were casted as for East High's rendition of "Westside Story".

"Playing Officer Krupke will be Jackson Frederick. Playing the part of A-rab will be…" And at last some familiar faces and names. "Playing Chino will be Kevin Baylor." Kevin looked excited, looked excited about getting a main role, but at the same time disappointed that he had not gotten Tony. "Playing Riff will be Wes Skropka." Wes—the Ryan-look-alike, as Troy called him—was excited at getting such a big dancing role, but the same as Kevin, slightly disappointed. "Playing Anita will be Sharpay Evans." Deep down, I couldn't help but gloat that Sharpay had not gotten Maria. Evil as the thought may have been, it was very rewarding to see the look of fury on her face. "Playing Maria will be-" oh please let it be me, please let it be me, "Gabriella Montez." **YES!!!! **Troy gave me a side-hug and I saw Ryan smile his congratulations for the end of the row.

Darbus was narrowing down roles to name, and Troy and Ryan were still left to be casted. Finally, the moment came—when our dramatic teacher would name who played Tony. I decided not to think about it, as I could not decide who to cross my fingers for. "Playing the lead role of Tony will be…." She paused, letting the class fall into silence, aching with anticipation. Why could she not just spit it out like every other **normal** theatre teacher?? "Playing the star of our play is…"

_Haha, I had lots of fun writing this chapter. I am able to pull off the bookworm chat because I am a HUGE bookworm myself and have read all the books I've mentioned (and seen all the movies mentioned). And by the way, if you haven't seen Moulin Rouge; GREAAAAT MOVIE, I sob every time I see it (just like I do with Westside Story, haha). And I usually don't cry in movies. Ewan McGregor is just so gorgeous…-sigh- but I still love Lucas G. more and I don't know how I got off on the topic of hot guys MOVING RIGHT ALONG_

_A note about the sweet thing; Lucas doesn't eat sugar /candy. No wonder he's so in shape, god. That crazy grandpa (I did not coin the term; he called himself that, taha)._

_I __**loooooooooooooooooooooooove**__ rain. I don't know if y'all have noticed, but most of my romancey scenes happen in the rain. It's just then unlike almost all the kids at my school, I get in a REALLY good mood when it rains! It just makes me so cheerful to have the skies gray and gloomy and a chilly wind and rain ____ It's been pretty rainy lately down here in Austin, Texas—so I've been pretty happy lately. Sadly, the sun's coming out…dang it_

_(the "Holy mother and child" comes from "Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End", by the way. Good movie, very traumatic if you are an Orlando Bloom fan—I _used_ to be one, am not one anymore, and I still almost yelled at the theatre screen…)_

_Sorry for all these end notes, but I am very talkative! But __**what did you think? Still like it? Any ideas, advice, corrections, suggestions? Who do you think is going to get the part of Tony? R&R please, as always**_


	3. Chapter 3: Could Be, Who Knows?

_I couldn't figure out from whose perspective to make this chapter, as I didn't really know what I was going to do with this chapter; but I eventually figured it out and typed it up in one day, muahaha. I love summer ____**Thank you all so much for all this support, crushie (oh so faithful crushie 3), dreamer 3097, Dreamgurl868, and hundredandthree-xo!!! Review please, as always, and enjoy!**_

**Chapter Three****: The Refreshing Change**

Finally, that Sunday afternoon, the big meeting came. The meeting where we would find out what we were casted as for East High's rendition of "Westside Story".

"Playing Officer Krupke will be Jackson Frederick. Playing the part of A-rab will be…" I couldn't help but zone out. I knew all of these people and war fairly good friends with most of them, but I was too nervous. My name hadn't been read off yet…there was still I chance that I might get to be Tony.

I glanced over at Troy. He was looking fairly nervous, but had the air of someone who was pretty certain was of his future.

But Troy didn't know just how badly I wanted this role. I had been practicing the songs far more than normal, even without Sharpay's ordering me too. I had had this feeling that maybe—just maybe—this year, things might change. I had no idea why I felt this way, but I was undying optimistic about the summer musical. I recalled a Saturday morning from not to long ago.

It had been a very sunny day and dreadfully hot; a usual summer day in Albuquerque. Armed with a cool glass of raspberry lemonade, I climbed up into the tree house I had built for Sharpay and me many years before, before our father added on the rehearsal studio. Now that that door was locked against me, I was more than happy to return to the small wooden home full of so many fun memories; the perfect place to practice singing.

_Could be  
Who knows?  
There's something due any day  
I will know right away  
Soon as it shows  
It may come cannonballin' down through the sky  
Gleam in its eye  
Bright as a rose!_

_Who knows?  
It's only just out of reach  
Down the block, on a beach  
Under a tree  
I got a feeling there's a miracle due  
Gonna come true  
Coming to me_

_Could it be?  
Yes it could  
Something's coming  
Something good  
If I can wait  
Something's coming I don't know what it is  
But it is  
Gonna be great!_

_With a click  
With a shock  
Phone'll jingle  
Door'll knock  
Open the latch!_

_Something's coming, don't know when  
But it's soon  
Catch the moon  
One handed catch_

_Around the corner  
Or whistling down the river  
Come on - deliver  
To me  
Will it be? Yes it will  
Maybe just by holding still  
It'll be there!_

_Come on, something, come on in  
Don't be shy  
Meet a guy  
Pull up a chair  
The air is hummin'  
And something great is coming_

_Who knows  
It's only just  
Out of reach  
Down the block, on a beach  
Maybe tonight  
Maybe tonight..._

Sitting in the theatre seat, I now chuckled. I gladly preferred singing solo in the shadow of tree branches than dancing with Sharpay in the brilliant light of the studio.

"Playing Riff will be Wes Skropka." Wes, one of my closest friends, looked very excited; it was a big dancing part. But, as most of the other boys in the theatre, he was sad he had not gotten to be Tony. I was happy for him that he got such a big part, but another part of me moaned; being Riff had been my back-up plan if I did not get to be Tony (which was most likely going to happen anyways).

"Playing Anita will be Sharpay Evans." I glanced over at my twin. She was ready to scream already; I could have sworn I saw steams of smoke coming out of her ears. No role other than the main role was good enough for Shar; I knew handfuls of girls who would have died to be Anita.

"Playing Maria will be Gabriella Montez." I was glad of that; Gabbi deserved it, she was a fantastic singer and actress. I sent a smile at her down the row for congratulations.

Darbus was narrowing down roles to name, and Troy and I were still left to be casted. Finally, the moment came—when our dramatic teacher would name who played Tony. I would have crossed my fingers, but one look at Troy's confident face and I prepared myself to be disappointed. The only other good role left after that was Bernardo, which would mean I'd have to be my sister's boyfriend in a play…_again_.

"Playing the lead role of Tony will be…." She paused, letting the class fall into silence, aching with anticipation. Why could she not just spit it out like every other **normal** theatre teacher?? "Playing the star of our play is Ryan Evans. Bernardo will be played by Troy Bolton…"

I stared at Darbus in shock. She **must** have read those two parts wrong….there was no possible way I could have beaten Troy in an audition…there was just no way!

It was painfully obvious everyone was sharing my thoughts.

"Umm, Mrs. Darbus?" Kevin asked timidly.

"What, Mr. Baylor?"

"Are you sure you read the parts of Tony and Bernardo in the right order?"

"Yes, I'm positive," she snapped impatiently. "Ryan will be playing Tony, and Troy will be playing Bernardo. All line must be memorized in two weeks; am I understood? No scripts allowed in two weeks! You are now dismissed for a two hour break"

Very loud arguments broke out everywhere. I felt like a codfish, my mouth opening and closing noiselessly. I gaped over at Troy and Gabriella, seeing how they were reacting to the news.

Troy had his face in his hands; he wasn't crying, just shocked and looking extremely angry with the world. Gabriella was running a comforting hand through his hair, and when she looked up our eyes met. Could she have…yes, she gave me a warm smile. I—of course—smiled back. She was actually happy for me that I had gotten the role!

A thought bowled over my brain. If I was Troy, and Gabriella was Maria…**we would have to kiss each other**. Not only several times in practices, but also for all three different performances. I felt my heart leap with insane joy. I was going to get to kiss Gabriella Montez and not get clobbered by her boyfriend; it was too much to believe. My eyes widened in full comprehension of the task ahead of me. This was going to be really, really delicate grounds to tread on.

I winced, seeing Sharpay steaming over to my way. Really not wanting to face her furious face at the moment, I slipped out of the theatre, ignoring the rain as always, and wandered the grounds by myself, brewing things over.

"A lot on your mind?" Gabbi appeared out of nowhere beside me. I smiled. She was positively beaming, and I felt that she was cheerful for the same reason I was; rain was pounding against our heads.

"Just a bit." I blew my hair out of my eyes. "I still can't believe I actually landed the main role in a play without my sister…it's a bunch to handle"

"I'll bet," she sympathized.

"I'm also surprised that you and Troy were not paired together as a couple," I added, trying to be a truthful as possible. "You have in all the last plays, and I could tell he wasn't terribly happy about these arrangements." She sighed and nodded. "Are you happy with them?" I hadn't meant to actually ask that question; it had just kind of slipped out.

She gazed at me for a long time. "It will be a new experience working with someone other than Troy…a refreshing change." I was relieved to see her smile again. "I am looking forward to getting to work with you." We walked together in silence for a little while before she suddenly giggled. I sent her a questioning look.

"Sorry, it's just that I'm sure I'm making you feel so awkward," she giggled. "This whole deal is awkward, and we are just walking like lumps on a log next to each other, knowing we have to be lovers in a play soon"

I smiled. "I still don't get how that is funny"

"It's a girl thing," she winked, sending shivers up my spine. Not the same kind of shivers that I got when Sharpay glared at me; these were good shivers. "Do you have your lines still?"

"Yes." We had been required to bring them to the meeting so we could highlight our parts.

"Why don't we go flop in one of the common rooms and run over some lines"

"Sure"

We took our time walking over to the Oz Dorm; it was the farthest away, and we both loved the rain. You would never have thought that a week ago she had hated rain with a passion.

Highlighters at the ready, Gabriella and I flipped through our hefty scripts. Together we read through my scene with Riff; she put on a low voice as I read my lines, highlighting as I went. I sent her into a fit of giggles when I imitated Anita in the dress shop scene. And then at last it was the school dance.

"Aww pooh; we don't get to have any fun dance scenes," she complained. "It looks like all we do is stand by the side egging people on and clapping. How dull"

I laughed. "We're too refined to dance with such rabble." My attempt to make her giggle worked.

"That's right," she replied in a snooty tone. "Oh wait, here we go. Finally some big action! We actually get to take steps!" I gave a large, over-dramatic gasp.

"Tony and Maria walk? What is this madness?" Gabbi giggled again, this time sending goose bumps all over my arms.

"And we stare at each other 'like we are the only ones in the world'," Gabbi snickered; now mimicking Darbus's enthusiastic and unbelievably kooky voice. I snorted loudly. To prove her point, she stared at me with eyes about twice the size of her own so that she looked like she had overdosed on caffeine pills. I stared right back. The staring contest lasted less than ten seconds before we both collapsed into helpless laughter.

"Alright, you have a line first," she laughed, trying to regain her composure. Breathing deeply, I directed my brain to Tony mode.

"Have we met before?" I asked in a low, uncertain voice.

"I know we have not." Gabriella had sobered up remarkably well.

"You're…not thinking I am someone else?"

"I know you are not"

"Or that we've met before?"

"I know we have not"

"I…I knew something never before was going to happen, _had _to happen," I told her earnestly, feeling Tony's rush to tell her this, "but this is so much more—"

"My hands are cold," Gabriella said. "Yours too." She paused. "So warm." Maria was talking about Tony.

"So beautiful," I responded, meaning every syllable of it. Even in a too-big-for-her sweater, sitting cross-legged on a squishy couch pouring over a script Gabriella looked beautiful.

"_Beautiful_," she repeated.

"It's so much to believe…you are not making a joke?" Tony asked, worrying some "falsehood" might be at hand; who wouldn't if a girl like Gabbi was staring at you from across the floor.

"I have not yet learned how to joke that way," Gabriella responded seriously, and then turned warmer. "I think now I never will." She paused again. "And then we kiss." She blew me a kiss, smirking.

"Yah, Gabs; I'm sure we can just blow each other romantic Romeo and Juliet kisses and stay five feet away from each other at all times." She giggled.

"Get your hands off, American!" she said in a low, whiny voice; Bernardo.

"'Nardo!" she protested in her regular voice.

"Stay away from my sister!" Bernardo again.

"Sister!" I cried out, finding it creepy to even imagine Troy and Gabriella being siblings.

"Couldn't you see he is one of them?" Gabriella scolded herself.

"No; I saw only him." There was such a dreamy-like feel in the way she said everything that made it sound to my ears that only had her mind set on one person.

"There's only one thing they want from a Puerto Rican girl," Gabriella said in her Bernardo voice.

"That's a lie!" I insisted, willing Maria to believe my words. "Later Tony," I said, speaking for Riff now. "Get away!" That was me being Chino. "Stay out this Chino; don't listen to—"

"She would listen to her brother before she listened to you!" Gabbi said. "And that's pretty much all we have for that scene together, besides us looking wistfully at each other and you find out my name…next is the balcony scene, I think"

"Righto," I said in my best British accent. "Let's pop off to that page then, shall we?"

That had to be one of the most awkward weeks in my memory. In choreography we started out with learning the school dance scene. Gabriella and I sat on the sidelines chatting while the rest of the boys were taught basic dance steps by the choreographer, Harper, so they'd have something to do in the background, as well as moves for the Mambo competition. Gabs and I were positioned on opposite sides of the stage and told to walk towards each other fairly slowly, but to be just so close to each other by the right count (also so that people would learn how to dance around us). With three couples in the background doing the exact same thing, we did a small little dance around each other, involving some snaps as well. It was stupidly easy, but I noticed that everyone else was having some issues with it. I had to remind myself that they had never been in one of Sharpay's dance rehearsal. That was one thing I would not miss at all.

And then came the very long and tedious blocking time. The opening scene took almost two hours, during which the Sharks, the girls, and me had an intense game of hangman. Finally, the scene and I had both been dreading and looking forward to; the school dance.

Still tripping over their own feet in the dance number, everyone else managed to scrape by. Gabriella and I, scripts in hand, walked slowly towards each other (on beat; so there, Harper!), staring into each other's eyes.

"Have we met before?" I asked in a low, uncertain voice.

"I know we have not," Gabriella responded, her warm eyes gazing into mine. I felt tingles go up my backbone. _Geez_, was I always going to have this problem around her? I glanced down at my script, forgetting my line.

"Keep staring into each other's faces!" Darbus bellowed from the front row, and I snapped my attention back to Gabriella. At least I had something pleasant to focus on.

"You're…not thinking I am someone else?"

"I know you are not"

"Or that we've met before?"

"I know we have not," she beamed, as if my face required her utmost attention.

"I…I knew something never before was going to happen, _had _to happen," I told her earnestly, "but this is so much more—"

"My hands are cold," Gabriella said.

"Now hold out your hands in a kind of prayer-position." Gabbi did so. "And Ryan, you wrap your right hand around them. Say the line"

"Yours too"

"Make sure to look down at your hands, the both of you, when you do that part. And then Ryan, lift your hand up slightly, and Gabriella you guide it up to his face and stroke his cheek with your hand." We both blushed, and the kids sitting out in the audience snickered. "_Oh grow up_," Darbus snapped at them, and Gabriella did as she was told. My backbone caught on fire. "You say your line…"

"So warm," Gabriella was fighting back a laugh.

"And Ryan, you lift up your left hand and stroke _her _cheek before you say the line"

The overhead lights shone down on Gabriella's dark skin, making it look the exact color of cinnamon. A baby pink lipstick danced across her delicate mouth, and her chocolate brown eyes were full of warmth. Dark brown tangles of her hair were clipped behind her head in a refined pin.

"**So** beautiful," I responded, not having to look down at my script.

"_Beautiful_," she repeated.

"It's so much to believe…you are not making a joke?" I asked. I almost felt like this whole scene was a joke, with me being a gag; I was almost preparing for Darbus to jump on the stage, yelling, "Just kidding! Now let's really get down to business and get Troy in there"

"I have not yet learned how to joke that way," Gabriella responded seriously, earnestly looking deeper into my eyes. "I think now I never will"

Kelsi began leading back in the piano as our arms dropped back down to our sides, and people began to enter back into the scene from the shadows. My heart was racing so loudly I was surprised Gabbi wasn't hearing it as we leaned slowly, ever so slowly, towards each other.

"SLOWER!" Darbus screeched. "Your lips mustn't touch until the whistle blows! And if you don't kiss romantically enough, I will make you redo the **whole** scene again from the beginning of Mambo!" All those dancing around us groaned. My hands fidgeted nervously as Gabbi's lips became closer and closer to mine, our eyes _very_ gradually shutting. With only about a centimeter's space to breath between us, I heard the whistle blow. Already heading there, our lips collided in a gentle kiss.

My brain blew a fuse. Every vein in my system was on fire as I kissed her. It hit me; this was my very first real kiss. I had had to feign kissing other girls before, but that had been in middle school plays where you use silhouettes or put a thumb in between you and your partner. Now in high school, with Troy and Gabbi there, I had never been in a part big enough for a kiss scene. So here I was, lip-locked with Troy Bolton's girlfriend before the entire class; and loving every second of it.

_Oh my, I do love Westside Story. I know this chapter wasn't terribly accurate when it comes to real life; in the musicals I'm in at least, we have three casts, not one; we don't go to the auditorium until the week of techs, and we pause and stop and get rearranged and stutter over our scripts WAY more. Anyways, __**R&R**__, as always ____ I love all these reviews, it makes me feel so special ___


	4. Chapter 4: The Refreshing Change

_Thank you dreamer 3097, Sweet Valen, DramaDork21, Ann, AColdSky, TheNinaBobo, crushie, -Millie Keane-, andmusicfreak1107 for all the reviews! -sigh- they make me so happy!!!!!! And Sweet Valen, thanks for the info about the techies!! I get so confused and kind of had to change some basic stuff to get the story the way i wanted, hahaha. Thank you all again and please **R&R when you finish!**  
_

**Chapter Four****: The Refreshing Change**

As Troy handily was Bernardo, it was his job to shove me away before the kiss lasted longer than two seconds. He shoved me a good deal harder than I thought was necessary for the role, making my eyes water from my protesting rib. And in my mind, he arrived at least twelve years late. I would have believed anyone who told me that I and Gabriella Montez had been kissing for a million hours.

"Get your hands off, American!" Troy barked, forgetting to roll the "r". I couldn't help but remember Gabbi's imitation of him, and caught her eye. She was fighting back a smile, and winked at me.

"'Nardo!" she protested, sounding truly angry.

"Stay away from my sister!" Troy barked, sending me an all-too-realistic glare.

"Sister!" I cried out, looking back to Gabbi. She also seemed little shocked by the realness of Troy's anger.

"Couldn't you see he is one of them?" Troy scolded her, gesturing towards me.

"No; I saw only him." She was staring into my eyes again…my brain shut down again.

"There's only one thing they want from a Puerto Rican girl," Troy said harshly.

"That's a lie!" I yelled, wondering who would ever work with Gabbi—I meant Maria, of course—for those shallow reasons?

"Later Tony," Wes (Riff) called, trying to get me out of the sticky situation. But I didn't want to get out.

"Get away!" Kevin (Chino) blocked my route to Gabbi.

"Stay out this Chino;" I blew him off, "don't listen to—" I began to plead to Gabbi, who was still staring at me.

"She would listen to her brother before she listened to you!" Troy growled.

"Hey, look; if you two characters want to settle this you can—" Wes began, but Harry cut him off (he was ).

"Please, boys; everything was going so well! Now come on; we're here to have a good time!" Everyone went back about they're business as Jackson (Krupke) was looming nearby, Troy and Sharpay dragged Gabriella away, as I was left to gaze after her like a love-sick puppy (Darbus was yelling at as do all this in the background).

Glancing back at me, Troy ordered, "Take her out here; we're going home"

"'Nardo, it is my first dance!" I heard Gabbi beg.

"Please, we are family; now go!"

Kevin offered her his hand and she reluctantly took it. He led her straight past me and towards the "door".

"Now, Maria, look back at Tony longingly! You're in love, for pete's sake!" Gabbi did so. I gazed wishfully back at her as Kevin tugged patiently on her hand.

"Come, Maria." Her eyes becoming downcast, Gabbi willed herself to be led away.

"Maria," I repeated, and walked out the door after her. As I did so, Wes confronted Troy, who had been coming after me.

I didn't particularly listen to their dialogue. My big solo was coming up; Darbus, for some reason that only she knew about, had decided to skip "Something's Coming" for the moment and plunge right into the dance shop scene. Breathing deeply, I saw Gabriella sitting on a stool side stage. She caught me staring and smiled, giving me the thumbs up. I couldn't help back smile back, and turned back to the curtain in front of me.

"Alright, next up; 'Maria', starring Tony and Tony and Tony"

"Good luck," Gabbi mouthed at me, smiling once last time. Feeling a lot warmer inside, I walked out on stage. It was finally time to see if all those hours of serenading the wooden planks had been worth it.

"'Maria'…" I said softly to the audience (everyone else in the play and Darbus; Kelsi was ready to go on the piano), as if learning a new word. "'Maria'!" Darbus had told me to be giddy. By the feelings happening in my stomach, this would be pretty dang easy.

_The most beautiful sound I ever heard:_

_Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria. _

I felt like the biggest idiot in the world, staring off into space all by my lone self, looking like a lovesick puppy. What a great debut for my first real solo.

_  
All the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word:  
Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria._

_  
Maria, I've just met a girl named Maria,  
and suddenly the name will never be the same to me._

I couldn't help but smile giddily, even if my part had not been instructed to do so. I had just kissed Gabriella…and I felt like my insides would burst from kept in energy and scatterbrained excitement.

_  
Maria! I've just kissed a girl named Maria.  
And suddenly I've found how wonderful a sound can be._

_  
Maria, say it loud and there's music playing.  
Say it soft and it's almost like praying,  
Maria, I never stop saying: "Maria!"_

Wondering around the set, I tried to find a new place to rest my eyes, as I was supposed to be off in my own dream world; repeating her name ten million times. They settled on Gabriella, who was grinning at me back in the shadows. I settled on singing to her for awhile.

_Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria! Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria!_

Whirling around foolishly, I ran to the other side of the stage, and sang to my twin sister glaring daggers at me; which just made me smile all the more. I was having center stage without her. What a change!

_Say it loud and there's music playing._

_Say it soft and it's almost like praying,_

_Maria, I never stop saying: "Maria!"_

_The most beautiful sound I ever heard; Maria!_

I sang the last part five feet above the audience, my cheeks probably red with the adrenaline rush flowing to my head, my chest pounding from the pain my tender rib was sending out.

Gabriella's POV:

I clapped louder than probably anyone else in the class. Troy sent me an odd look, and I quickly lowered the volume, blushing. Wait, why was I blushing? I had absolutely no idea why I was blushing…had Troy seen my admiration for Ryan's obvious talent in my eyes? Not that my eyes were doing that….at any rate, Troy was getting more and more paranoid by the minute.



"You are all free to go until dinner!" Darbus announced, and every person bounded to their feet, overjoyed.

"Anybody else sick of this campus beside me?" Troy asked loudly once we were outside, and almost everybody voiced their agreement. "What say we ask Darbus to let us go into town to see a flick?" The roar of assent was enormous. I wasn't terribly in the mood to go anywhere at the moment; I felt sticky and gross all over and my throat was itching, but Troy would want me at his side, and I couldn't let him down. He kissed me very wetly on the mouth before springing away to change, like everybody else.

"Are you coming, Gabbi?" a soft voice asked. I turned smiling to Ryan—his voice was very easy to recognize once you got to know him.

"Yes; are you?"

He nodded cheerfully. "I think we're going to see the latest Pirates movie"

"He's obsessed with those movies," Sharpay confided in me back in or dorm room. "Ryan has watched the first two movies at least five hundred times and was checking the days off until this third one came off." I giggled, and dug through my bag.

"What should I wear?" I asked the walls, but Sharpay thought I was speaking to her.

"That one light blue outfit you have," she instructed. "It looks very good you." I gaped at her. "I get my style sense from my brother," she replied to my look. "Just do as I tell you and believe me; Ryan told me that certain piece of information one day during drama"

I now gawked at her. "He told you I looked good in the light blue outfit?"

"Not exactly; I do recall the words were 'like an angel that had taken the wrong path in heaven'." She snorted. "Don't you dare tell him I told you that he said so; he would kill me." Sharpay reconsidered that statement. "Not that he actually could kill me, you know; at the most, he would be very upset and not talk to me for twelve hours." She rolled her eyes. "That kid can't stay mad at someone for over a few hours"

Needless to say, I was wearing the light blue outfit I wore for my first try-outs with Troy (when we didn't know Darbus was listening, if you recall) when I climbed onto our charter bus destined for the movie theatre. Troy had changed into old blue jeans and a loose red shirt reading "Coca Cola"; obviously he had been _striving _to look good. Glancing towards the back of the bus, checking for if Miranda, my good drama friend, was open, but my eyes instead landed on Ryan, who was sitting by himself on the last seat in the bus.

Unlike Troy, Ryan had taken time to look presentable. He looked very "school-spirity" in nice white pants with dark threading, a red polo with spaced miniscule white stripes, a black jacket (we were having a cold front, hallelujah) with small white stripes and a red "E" outlined it red, a white undershirt, and a white baseball cap with a big red "E". He grinned briefly at me before returning to staring out the window, an Mp3 bug in his ear. I couldn't help but wonder what he was listening to. I sat down next to Troy, who was blabbing away with Kevin (sitting behind us) about the candy machine in the basement of their dorm.

By the time we pulled in front of Tinsel Town, I was feeling downright terrible. Troy didn't seem to notice; he was blathering on about something that sounded like what our costumes were going to look like, not noticing my emotionless face. It's kind of hard to look attentive and cheerful when you most likely are running a fever.

The world rather blurred by as we went through the ticket check-in, refreshment line, handed the worker our tickets, and sat down in our seats. I only came out of my revere once the lights dimmed, everyone shut up, and the ads began to roll. I made it into the movie about as far as Keira Knightly handing the guys in Singapore her many weapons when, whispering a vague excuse to Troy—who probably wasn't listening anyways—I edged out of the row and made post haste to the restroom.

I decided then and there that I wasn't going back into the theatre, and sat down hard on a bench on the side of the front lobby.

"Are you alright?" My eyes, which had been blinking tiredly, sprung open and gaped at Ryan, who had just sat down next to me, looking very concerned.

"Feeling a little queasy," I confessed. "But why are you out here? You've been waiting ever since the second movie came out to see it!"

"Did Shar tell you that?" he asked, the tips of his ears turning bright red.

"Well, yah…" I said, embarrassed, but he merely shrugged.

"I wanted to make sure that you were okay; you were gone for more than fifteen minutes, and the only person who takes that long in the bathroom is Shar in the morning." I couldn't help but giggle; I had never heard Ryan call his sister by her nickname before.

He surprised me by placing the back of his hand against my forehead. His hand felt icy cold. "Geez, you sure are feverish. You need to lie down"

"Ryan, stop freaking out, I'm fine"

"No, you are running a fever and need to lie down!" he insisted, and I saw no point of arguing further. Those Evans are so stubborn.

"The bench is hard," I mumbled feebly for one final stab.

"You'll find I'm very squishy; just put your head in my lap," he suggested casually. I stared at him.

"But…don't you want to go see your movie?" I persisted, stupefied. He waved it away.

"I can always see it later. Stop stalling and **lie down**, misses." Ryan said the last command in such a mocking voice that I giggled again, but did as he said.

At first, my head accidentally brushed against his chest, and I heard him gasp.

"What, what's the matter?" I asked, panicking. He chuckled softly, rubbing the spot where my head had brushed.

"Sorry; my rib still isn't fully healed"

I was grateful he couldn't see my face, because it was flushing from top to bottom as I laid my head in his lap; my eyes facing outwards. I was touched not only by his sacrifice for me, but also by his very gentleness. He made sure not to shift his position so that I would have an unmoving pillow. After a few timid minutes, Ryan rested his hand on my head, and ran soft fingers through my hair. If anyone other than him had done it, I would have jumped to my feet and screeched at them. But his move was so sweet, so caring, that I closed my eyes. It felt so good, having his fingernails brush lightly against my scalp. I could feel Ryan's chest rise…and fall, and could hear him inhale…and exhale. It was in this manner, my head in his lap, with Ryan's fingers running through my hair, me listening to and feeling his breathing that I slipped into a very welcome, deep sleep.

Troy's POV:

"That was a decent movie," I agreed with Kevin as we walked out of the movie theatre. "Way better than the second one—that had no plot!"

"A _decent movie_?" Sharpay repeated scathingly, glaring at me with tears in her eyes. She went on to yell at me how they had killed her favorite character and finally stormed off in a furious rage before stopping dead in her tracks when she entered the lobby.

"What now?" I asked her, laughing, before also stopping dead in my tracks.

Ryan's sleeping head was propped up by his hand, his elbow resting on the bench's armrest. And with her head in his lap, his hands buried in her hair, lay my girlfriend, also fast asleep. My entire stomach lurched in horror.

"**WHAT…IS…THIS**?" Sharpay thundered, causing the slumbering pair to pop to their feet, blushing with humiliation. This made me—and Sharpay—even madder.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" I exploded at Ryan, causing the blood to drain from his face.

"Troy!" Gabriella protested, sounding shocked.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY GIRLFRIEND!" I barked, glaring daggers at Ryan. How dare he put moves on Gabbi like that! She wasn't interested in him, and he didn't like her like that, and was leading her on! I saw when I said "girlfriend" he turned slightly green, looking even more embarrassed. "Gabriella, couldn't you see he's only using you?" I scolded her, gesturing towards Ryan.

"No; I saw that Ryan was just being nice!!" I saw to my sickening horror that she was staring at Ryan full in the face, and he was looking straight back at her in the same manner. It made me feel as if I was misplaced in this scene.

"There's only one thing people like him want from a sweet person like you!" I said harshly to Gabbi.

"That's a lie!" Ryan yelled.

"Chill, Ryan," Wes said, tugging on his arm, but Ryan ignored him.

"Back off!" Kevin warned Ryan as he stepped towards me, ready to argue.

"Stay out of this, Kevin; Gabbi, don't—"

"She would listen to her boyfriend before she listened to you!" I growled, infuriated to see that Gabriella was still staring at him.

"Look, if you two want to settle this later—" Wes began, but Darbus cut him off with her entrance.

"What is going on here?" she asked severely. Everyone present looked everywhere but her. "Please load the buses, ladies and gentlemen!"

Firmly placing my arm around Gabbi's waist, I led her away from Ryan, who was still staring after her almost like a love-sick puppy. At the door of the bus, she turned to peek back at Ryan.

Disgusted, Kevin, who was behind us, pushed her forward slightly with a, "Come **on**, Gabriella." Her eyes becoming downcast, Gabbi continued walking up the stairs.

I saw from the window of the seat Gabbi and I shared Sharpay dragging Ryan behind her, who was still staring in front of him like he was incapable of any thought. I had never been so mad at one person in my entire life.

"Leave him alone, Troy," Wes ordered, leaning over the back of his seat before sitting back down. I rolled my eyes; like I was going to take _Wes's_ advice.

"Troy Alexander Bolton, what is your problem?" My eyebrows shot up ten inches as I turned to a grumpy little girlfriend.

"Ryan was being a little too forward for my taste—"

"He was being sweet and looking after me, because UNLIKE YOU he saw that I hadn't returned from the bathroom and was running a fever!"

I gawked at her. How was _I_ supposed to know that she was _sick_? I had had no idea! And it was very unlike Gabbi to yell at me like this.

"I didn't—"

"_Exactly_, Troy. You didn't do anything. It's so depressing that because my boyfriend was neglecting me, someone else had to take over what **you **should have been doing!"

I sat up straighter. "You're not implying that _Ryan—_" I began, get madder by the second.

"And if I am?" she interrupted. "And what if it was Ryan? Are you jealous that I am becoming closer with a fellow classmate because you didn't come up to scratch on the auditions? Well, you know what? _That's showbiz_." And with that, my girlfriend slapped me smartly across the face and walked primly over and sat down next to _Sharpay_; breaking up with me in the most obvious way possible. Sending me one final glare, Gabriella began chatting animatedly with Sharpay. I supposed spending so much time as roommates would make you closer.

My now-ex's words echoed through my brain. _That's showbiz_. Where had I heard those words before that…

"_No, wait! Wait, Mrs. Darbus, wait! We're ready; we can sing!" I hollered sprinting up the isle in my warm-up clothes._

"_I called your names; __**twice**__," Darbus scolded._

"_Mrs. Darbus, _please, _please," Gabriella begged_

"_Rules are rules," Darbus persisted. At that moment, students began pouring into the auditorium. _

"_We'll be happy to do it again for our fellow students, Mrs. Darbus," Sharpay said excitedly, walking back onto stage with Ryan following._

"_I don't know what's going on here, but in any event it's far too late and we have not got a pianist"_

"_Well, that's showbiz," Ryan said, trying to make the best of the situation; it failed miserably on the distressed Gabriella and I._

"_We'll sing without a piano!" I said desperately, but Kelsi appeared out of nowhere._

"_Oh no you won't; pianist here Mrs. Darbus!" she said gleefully._

_Sharpay leered towards her. "You __really__ don't wanna to the…"_

"_Oh yes!" Kelsi said spitefully. "I __really__ do! Ready on stage!" Kelsi scampered back to the piano as a disgusted and horrified Sharpay stormed back over to her twin._

"_Now _that's_ showbiz," Darbus said, grinning at the siblings. Ryan and Sharpay gaped at her as she walked out into the isle. Sharpay now stormed offstage, Ryan slowly following._

But there was a new part to the memory that I hadn't remembered before. It was while we were singing "Breaking Free", and were running around the giant moon…

_Gabriella ran one way around the moon and I ran the other. My eyes darted offstage for a split second. Ryan Evans was bopping along to the music, his eyes shining. I followed his gaze, and saw Gabriella beaming happily at the audience, and now at me. But then her eyes also strayed offstage, and I saw her make eye contact with Ryan. He smiled encouragingly at her, and gave her the thumbs up, though his sister smacked down his hand the next second. I glanced back at Gabbi. She was blushing brightly, but was soon focused on singing our song again. My stomach did a flip-flop, but I ignored it, figuring it to be just nerves_.

"'That's showbiz'…" I muttered aloud. Ryan had used it against us before we shot it right back at us. And now he was shooting it back…through my Gabriella. I darted a look back at Gabriella, talking happily with our old nemesis.

Those Evans were going to get it, and get it good; for this was showbiz.

_Muahahaha, Troy's mad. What a change. **R&R!**_


	5. Chapter 5: Gentle and Loving

_An update! It's a miracle!_

_I'm SO sorry that this chapter took so long in coming. I got a horrendously HUGE brain-block on this story, and I also got distracted my fun other stories and one-shots. Like with other stories, I hope to update this more often, but I truly cannot promise anything. Again, sorry for the ridiculous delay!_

_**Remember to R&R, as always :) **And thank you my lovely reviewers for reviewing!!! And if you're reading this right now, thank you for sticking with me!  
_

**Chapter Five****: Gentle and Loving**

I couldn't think any intelligent thought. It was as if my brain had been completely shut down. _Gabriella Montez_, who I had only dreamed of knowing as a close friend, had fallen asleep with her head in my lap, and I had fallen asleep next to her. She had allowed my hands—which I no longer had any control over—to comb through her chocolate brown hair…something I had wanted to do for as long as I could remember.

What _had_ been going through my brain? She was dating **Troy Bolton**, for God's sake. The guy every girl (and a few guys) in Albuquerque, including my own sister, had wanted to date; East High's "golden boy". And not only that, I was rooming with this jock god, who could kick my butt any day, time, or place. I had a fairly good idea that the time and place was going to be that night and in the dorm room we shared.

If I hadn't already come to facts with how mad Troy would be at me, the death glare he aimed my way the moment I stepped into the room would have stopped my heartbeat.

"What did you do that for?" he finally growled after allowing a few minutes of very uncomfortable silence.

I thought it would be dumb to say "do what?", so I tried to answer as honestly as possible.

"I did it because it felt right. Gabbi—"

"Gabriella to you," he hissed through his teeth.

"—Gabbi was feeling sick, which you didn't seem to notice **at all**. So, I decided, since you weren't going to act like a boyfriend," _(oh my gosh, was I really saying this to __Troy Bolton?_"I thought I should step in and take care of her. She needed sleep, and the bench was no feather bed, so I let her use my lap"

"And why did you fall asleep?" he barked. "I'm sure that was also your duty as 'make-shift boyfriend'"

The term made my cheeks feel very hot, but I plunged forward anyways. "I fell asleep because I was tired," I said evenly, surprising even myself with the calmness of my voice. "I can assure you I had no intention to do anything funny with Troy Bolton's girlfriend." He swallowed that much, but still didn't trust me.

"Just stay away from her," he spat. "She's not _your_ type"

"What's my type?" I asked, actually interested to hear what Troy's version of my _type_ was.

"Not someone like Gabbi; she deserves far better." I nodded.

"That much is true. Gabbi—"

"You mean **'Gabriella**'!"

"—Gabbi deserves far better than any guy she knows, but it is our job to be the best we can until she finds the right guy"

"Are you suggesting that that 'right guy' isn't me?!" Troy growled.

I shrugged. "I'm not saying anything. I'm only agreeing with you that I don't deserve her. It is for her to choose, not the other way around"

Troy seemed unable to worm his way around that roadblock, so he merely turned his back huffily on me and pretended to be very interested in untying his shoelace. There was no way I was going to sleep in the same room with the captain of the basketball team who was out to kill me, so I decided to skip that pleasantry by wandering campus until some adult caught and yelled at me. Nodding a swift goodbye to the steaming Troy, I slipped right back out the door and made my way down the backstairs as the sun slowly sunk beneath the horizon.



I didn't know what had come over me; I had just broken up with **Troy Bolton**. The very same "super hottie-bomb" that I had crushed on every since I met him and dated happily with for almost two years. And just like that, I had broken up with him…but for what? Because he had been ignoring me lately? Treating me like a possession? _Not Ryan? _I immediately threw out the last idea, but it came back and smacked me across the brain; knowing it was the real reason.

Since when did my senses escape from me like this? Since when did I break up with a guy for not noticing that I _had a fever_…and since when did I find Ryan Evans so captivating?

"Alright, time to speak up. Why did you do it?" I glanced up at Sharpay, who was sitting across from me—we were back in our dorm room now—and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Do what?"

"Break up with Bolton. God knows you love him"

"He's changed lately," I said shortly, looking away; embarrassed. "He's only capable of being paranoid"

"About you and Ryan?" I shot a look over at her again before turning quickly away. "Honestly Gabs, he has a right to be. I mean, he has gone overboard with the whole business about you starring with another guy and having to kiss him and spend so much time with him—but I was shocked to see you two put your guard down like that!"

"Huh?" I asked; the last part had caught **me **off guard.

"You and Ryan let down your guard back in the movie theatre; that kind of stuff needs to be reserved for stage-only, so that way you can actually get away with it." I was surprised my eyes didn't pop out of head and fall onto Sharpay's sparkly covers.

"You've now completely lost me"

"Look, it's dead obvious…well, to me at least…that my twin has head-over-heels fallen for you. And that you have at last come to your senses and discovered what a sweetheart the kid is." My heart skipped at beat. _He liked me?_ "The both of you were able to pass it off as terrific acting when you're onstage, but now there's no way around it. Especially now that you've broken up with the freak." I could only assume she meant Troy.

"But what am I going to do?" I pleaded after a long silence; at the moment, Sharpay seemed to be the one who had it all together, not me.

"If I was you, I would just think 'Ryan'…it'll come to you." Great Shar; do an Evans and make nothing simple. "Just don't get caught." She smirked at me and clicked off the bedside light, leaving me in the darkness.

_Think 'Ryan'_…well, if I was Ryan, and my roommate was out to kill me, where would I go? I glanced towards the window. In the dim light of the lampposts, I could see the clouds looming overhead. The absence of the breeze and the very stillness of the night promised a storm. _Just don't get caught_.

Slipping a soft, form-fitting jacket over my head, I stuffed my feet into sneakers, my pink pajama pants almost engulfing them. Armed with a flashlight in my pocket, not believing I was actually doing this, I eased open the door to the dorm room and clicked it shut behind me.

I tiptoed down the back stairwell, hoping to goodness that our R.A. was asleep. She proved to be so as I slunk out the backdoor and made my way in the darkness between lampposts towards the far left side of the campus.

Somehow, I wasn't at all surprised to see Ryan sitting cross-legged near the edge of Dedric's Cliff. He wearing a long-sleeve, baby-blue shirt I didn't recognize. Even in the gloom I could see that the blue brought out those eyes of his.

"Gabriella?" he asked in surprise when I sat down next to him.

"Hey," I whispered in response, beaming at him. It felt so wonderful just to be in his mere presence.

"I just knew you would come," he said softly, laughing a little. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Not a wink." I took a deep breath. "Ry, I thought you should know that I've broken up with Troy." Though I couldn't see him too well, I knew he was staring at me in surprise again. "It just wasn't working out; he didn't trust me, and kept on ignoring me"

"I see," he said slowly.

We stayed silent for a very long time. I could feel the hardness of the rock pressing against my legs, and despite myself, I scooted closer to Ryan and rested my head against his shoulder. His muscles tensed at first; as if they were afraid to move. But then, they relaxed, and I felt his head brush against mine. It gave me tingles all over my arms.

"What a beautiful night," he breathed. I followed his gaze to the heavens, and my breath caught in my chest. The moon was peeking through the thick clouds, sending down a bright ray of light every which way, penetrating the molasses-like darkness. "What a pity morning has to come"

My entire perspective seemed to change. Instead of nighttime—a scary time when monsters stalked you and your worst nightmares came to life—it was a peaceful time of seclusion where you did not have to worry about what any mortal thought. For the nighttime did not belong to any body on the surface of the planet; it belonged to that silvery man up in the moon, smiling down on Ryan and I. It was all so enchanted…so fairy-like…I did dread the morning. Because morning brought all of the realities into blatant sunshine and that was not what I was in the mood for at the moment.

For if I listened to reality, it would be telling me there was no way Ryan could be leaning in closer to me, and I closer to him, our eyes closing. Our noses brushed, and we simultaneously paused.

"People will be looking for us," I whispered, both of our eyes still closed.

"Mhmm," Ryan mumbled softly. His nose titled sideways and I could feel his soft breath tickling my skin.

"You will catch whatever I've got," I murmured, my voice failing me.

"No I won't," he murmured just as softly. I heard a rumble from the heavens above us, and the moon hid behind clouds as water droplets plummeted down onto Ryan's nose, and water flicked against my cheek.

This was _our_ time…it was raining.

The rain pouring down our unnoticing faces seemed to give both of us the small push we needed.

Sweatshirt or no, shivers ran down my spine when my lips came in contact with Ryan's for the second time. The kiss was so sweet, innocent…and gentle, like he was afraid to bruise me. It was all so gentle; his arms that enveloped me, how he deepened the kiss, how one of his hands supporting my head. When we at last broke apart, I didn't open my eyes; I was savoring the feel of his lips pressed against mine.

"Goodnight," he breathed, kissing me on the forehead. My relishing turned to the feel of his lips pressed against my forehead.

"Goodnight." _Good night indeed_. "And Ry?" He titled his head down so our eyes met. "See you tomorrow"

His countenance turned far happier. "That's right; I'll see you tomorrow." Ryan bent down farther so that our brows were pressed against each other and I could hear his breathing easier than ever. Our eyes were closed again.

"Sweet dreams, Gabriella." Brushing his lips tenderly against mine, Ryan swept away into the dark of the night, being sure to avoid the rings of light the lampposts cast.

Oh I was going to be having dreams about something very sweet tonight, no doubt about it.

I eased the door to my dorm closed and slowly pulled off my sweater. I crawled painstakingly quietly into my bed, making sure not to disturb my roommate.

"So, how'd it go?"

Sharpay made me nearly have a heart attack. She had been awake the whole time, I now saw, and was sitting upright in her bed. I didn't say anything, but an untamed smile crept across my face.

She giggled. "I thought as much. Tell me **all** the dirty details"

I never would have thought it possible to chat so much with "the ice princess"; my old nemesis. But as I opened up about the evening Ryan and I had shared, I realized how easy she chatted back; how willing she was to have a friend. Who would have thought it at a first glance?

But I should have known just by Ryan—never judge a person by first impressions. There is usually a lot more to a person than you see in one glance.

"I always knew Ryan would make a cute boyfriend," Shar (as she told me to call her) said later into our extensive conversation. "He already makes a terrific twin brother, so I see no reason why that wouldn't rub off into his date life"

"We aren't dating!" I giggled, feeling my ears burning.

"Uhuh, sure you guys aren't. As I was saying, Ry makes a terrific twin brother, being all protective and caring, so I knew that eventually you would come to your senses and see how much better he is for you. It took him long to realize that he might actually have a chance with you." She smiled to herself. "When I first told him our plan to ruin you and Troy—by the way, no hard feelings, right?" I nodded and smiled, indicating for her to continue. "Anyways, when I first told him about the plan, he was all against doing something that might make you upset. But, I finally convinced him with the idea that it was really Troy Bolton whom we were fighting against." Sharpay took a big bite of a cookie from the care package Zeke had sent her. "As a matter of fact, it really wasn't him who **I **was fighting against; it was probably you. But as of several weeks ago, I realized that Troy was a jerk, you were awesome. 'Nough said." I blushed with the insult aimed at Troy, but also at the rare compliment. I had honestly never been so…so flattered!

"You know, Shar," I said, helping myself to an éclair, "I really had my doubts about you too. I mean, you and Ryan used to never socialize with anyone; that's why everybody figured y'all were stuck up. We all figured that you both you were too good for us"

"The truth is," Sharpay explained, "that we've had such bad experiences with jerks in the past, we take _forever_ to trust someone. And I mean _forever_. We used to really analyze people to see if we could trust them with our friendship, is the deepest way I can sum it up"

Hearing **Sharpay Evans **speak this way was truly terrifying. Not only to hear her use such big words, but it was terrifying to think of what the twins must have gone through together to build up this distrust of the world.

"Don't feel like talking about it?" I asked softly.

"Not really," she admitted, grinning a little. "Not fun memories, and Ryan and I dwelled on them plenty enough all middle school and most of high school. They don't need to be brought up again"

Ryan and I were playing tick-tack-toe on the back of my script. It was getting towards the end of blocking, and right now the rest of the Jets and Anita were up on stage rehearsing. It was the scene where Anita tries to give the message to Tony for Maria, but the Jets don't trust her, and…well, basically rape her. Troy was now giving me the cold shoulder, which was fine, because I didn't want to talk to him either. Kelsi had happily taken my side of the ordeal, as had pretty much all the girls on the drama club. All the boys had automatically chosen Troy's side, so Ryan didn't really have very many males to hang out with. This, not to my surprise, didn't seem to bother him an inkling.

Waiting for Ryan to dig up another blank piece of paper (the back of both our script's were covered), I watched the practice of a few minutes. Darbus was walking impatiently all over the stage, showing the boys how to give the audience the _illusion_ that they were all over Sharpay without _really_ being all over her. It was actually slightly amusing to watch, as all the teenagers on stage were having difficult times keeping straight faces. I smiled as I watched Sharpay continually laugh as one boy passed her gently to someone else, and Reno (A-rab) tipped her safety over backwards, making the feat look dangerous when really the blonde was in safe hands.

"You guys really do love theatre, don't you," I murmured softly into Ryan's ear, causing him to quit his search for a moment. He followed my gaze onto the stage, and we both chuckled as Darbus scolded the players firmly while behind her back Reno put a hand over Sharpay's mouth and pretended to violently kiss her.

"Yeah," he sighed in agreement, finally yanking out a scratch piece of paper from his messenger bag. "We've been doing it since we were…three, I think, so it's something we've literally grown up with"

I grinned at the thought of Sharpay and Ryan toddlers dancing around on stage, singing happily into their microphones. "Did you always do musicals?"

"We've always loved music, dancing, and theatre, but only put them together in the second grade"

"Did you star in that performance too?" I laughed, remembering Sharpay bragging about all the productions they had starred in.

"Not the first one; though we did get fairly big parts. But ever since that, we starred in every show together…that is, until you and Troy came along"

"Had you always planned to do musicals?"

"Yep. It was Shar and mine's dream pretty much since kindergarten"

I hung my head sheepishly.

"I never even considered doing a musical until Darbus mentioned try-outs my first day at East High"

"What's so wrong with that?"

I looked at Ryan and raised an eyebrow. "It's just that you both seemed to have everything so planned out for high school, and Troy and I ruined most of it"

"Well…having everything planned out isn't all it used to be," Ryan said. "Sharpay and I really had no friends all our childhood and early teenage years, so we'd make up for it by planning out our future, I guess. We'd talk about how'd we meet up after classes, when we would go to school, how we would work our schedules; all that junk"

"No wonder Troy said you were ridiculously organized," I laughed playfully. "You've had plenty of practice at it"

He shrugged modestly. "Organizing wasn't restricted to just our future. Our rooms used to be the ridiculously clean and controlled"

"Used to be?" I asked, giggling.

"Once we got actual friends and social lives, we no longer had any time to obsess over little details. Our rooms and now normal; like a hurricane barreled through"

I nodded, but didn't say anything else. I wasn't accustomed to knowing so much about the Evans. It was all so interesting, and yet kind of sad. Sad that two such fun people could ever be lonely enough to the point of planning out their high school, endlessly cleaning their rooms, and forever practicing for the next play. It made watching Sharpay thoroughly enjoying herself on the stage and constantly flirting with Reno all the more pleasurable.

When it came time for dinner break, Ryan and I stuffed our things into his backpack and walked together out the door. Seeing that Troy was walking several paces ahead of us, when Ryan's hand brushed questioningly against mine, I allowed my fingers to interlace with his cool ones.

Glancing down at our entwined hands, I reconsidered Sharpay's statement the previous night. _"He already makes a terrific twin brother, so I see no reason why that wouldn't rub off into his date life"_

Maybe dating Ryan wasn't so out-of-the-question. When I brought my gaze up, I saw his sparkling blue eyes staring into mine. He lips curled into his signature melting smile, and he kissed me gently on the lips.

Not at all out-of-the-question.

_**What think? Worth the wait? R&R please, and be sure to include any lovely advice or suggestions for the rest of the story! **__Such things are always appreciated 3_


End file.
